DIANE ACKERMAN

ONE HUNDRED NAMES FOR LOVE: A Memoir

Finalist for the Pulitzer
PrizeFinalist for the
National Book Circle Critics Award

Everyone who cherishes the gift of language will cherish Diane
Ackerman's narrative masterpiece, an exquisitely written love story
and medical miracle story, one that combines science, inspiration,
wisdom, and heart.

One day Ackerman's husband, Paul West, an exceptionally gifted
wordsmith and intellectual, suffered a terrible stroke. When he
regained awareness he was afflicted with aphasia—loss of
language—and could utter only a single syllable: "mem." The
standard therapies yielded little result but frustration. Diane
soon found, however, that by harnessing their deep knowledge of
each other and her scientific understanding of language and the
brain she could guide Paul back to the world of words. This
triumphant book is both a humane and revealing addition to the
medical literature on stroke and aphasia and an exquisitely written
love story: a magnificent addition to literature, period.

REVIEWS AND COMMENTS

"A testament to the power of creativity in language, life—and
love." — Washington Post

"This book has done what no other has for me in recent years: it
has renewed my faith in the redemptive power of love, the need to
give and get it unstintingly, to hold nothing back, settle for
nothing less, because when flesh and being and even life fall away,
love endures. This book is proof." —Abraham
Verghese, New York Times Book Review